Review of the Microscopic Approach to the Higgs Mechanism and to Quark and Lepton Masses and Mixings

This review summarizes the results of a series of recent papers, where a microscopic model underlying the physics of elementary particles has been proposed. The 'tetron model' relies on the existence of an internal isospin space, in which an independent physical dynamics takes place. This idea is critically re-considered in the present work. As becomes evident in the course of discussion, the model not only describes electroweak phenomena but also modifies our understanding of other physical topics, like gravity, the big bang cosmology and the nature of the strong interactions.